Have you seen the Milky Way lately? I only saw it once when I was a kid, from the side of a Wyoming highway. I've lived near cities most of my life and rarely see any stars. This is common in America, and the International Dark-Sky Association is trying to do something about it through education and the finding of solutions to the "adverse environmental impact of light pollution and space debris."

To hear (or read) a report about an existing dark sky preserve in Canada and the efforts of the Dark-Sky Association you can go to this story at the Living on Earth website. Listen for the segment about LA residents describing a "pollution cloud" in the night sky after an earthquake knocked out the power grid.